The Light Pirate

The narrative moves years forward in time. Wanda steers her canoe through the swamp that Rudder has become. She only travels and fishes when the sun is set because the days are now so hot that they cause deadly heatstroke. She returns to her treetop home, “a patchwork of salvaged siding and shingles and fence posts and shutters, connected by ladders and ropes” (225). She built the structure with Phyllis, but the woman has been dead for years. Her friend used to help her see the beauty in nature, and she tries to do the same. A feral cat snuggles against her, reminding her of Blackbeard, who disappeared long ago. She gathers freshwater from a spring on a moonless night because she avoids the few other humans left in Rudder’s ruins. Sensing movement in the lagoon, she draws a knife.

The narrative moves back in time. After Kirby’s death, Lucas hurries back to Rudder and reluctantly agrees to let Wanda stay with Phyllis as she wishes. Initially, they plan for Wanda to join her brother in California after a year or two.